Today, 10 March, in the “Respublika lyuks” hotel, a roundtable was held on the theme “Freedom of information in Azerbaijan and the right to obtain information.” The roundtable was held within the framework of the ten days of events for Elmar Huseynov; and was organized by ARTICLE 19, “Yeni Nesil” Journalist Union and Media Rights Institute.

Azerbaijan Journalists’ Union Chairman Elchin Shixli said that there are problems associated with the access to information in Azerbaijan. He emphasized that it is necessary to conduct discussions around this topic. ARTICLE 19 Azerbaijan and European Program Representative Rebecca Vincent, “Yeni Nesil” Journalists’ Union Chairman Arif Aliyev and Media Rights Institute Chairman Rashid Hajili said that these organizations conducted investigations regarding issues in the sector of the access to information in Azerbaijan within the framework of Global Campaign for Freedom of Expression in 2008 and 2009 and prepared relevant reports and recommendations.
Rashid Hajili spoke on “Freedom of information and opportunities of right to obtain information in Azerbaijan.” Hajili noted that several violations were discovered during the application of the law “On Obtaining Information” as a result of investigations.
He pointed out that the Media Rights Institute filed a lawsuit in the court regarding this issue.
Then, Istanbul Bilgi University Professor Yaman Akdeniz made a speech on the theme of “Freedom of information and opportunities of the right to obtain information in Azerbaijan” and conducted a comparative analysis of situation of this sector in Turkey and Azerbaijan.
MPs Alimammad Nuriyev, Fazil Gazanferoglu, Elmira Akhundova, Turan Information Agency Director Mehman Aliyev, League of Democratic Journalists Chairman Yadigar Mammadli and others participated in the discussions, and expressed their suggestions regarding this issue.
At the end of the event, ARTICLE 19 Azerbaijan and European Program Representative Rebecca Vincent gave recommendations.

Photo: http://www.irfs.az/component/option,com_datsogallery/Itemid,30/func,viewcategory/catid,448/lang,az/